[05x04] June 24th, 2014

[05x04] June 24th, 2014


  • Total voters
    32

Viper007Bond

Chicken Nugget Connoisseur
STAFF MEMBER
Joined
Sep 21, 2003
Messages
31,044
Location
Portland, Oregon
Car(s)
2008 Dodge Viper, 2006 MB CLS55 AMG
Last edited:
Once again, you know from the get-go that Tanner is somehow going to win, just cause they need to get that Ferrari sideways.

Rut should have won the car wash test by far, but the whole thing was too obviously staged. The handles for the T-tops hang down pretty far when unlocked, and you can see from the interior shot that Rut would have banged his head on it when getting in the car. Not to mention after conveniently going to the bathroom before hand, he would have known to check them for sabotage. I'm also rather surprised that Tanner didn't choose the MR2, and had so much shit to say about it cause that's totally his type of car. Rut really should have gone with a VW Rabbit or an Audi Quattro.

The whole thing with the Grand National was the worst, though. Not just because Adam supposedly cheated, but because they let him thrash such a rare car. He should have gotten an ugly 80s vette, a fox body Mustang, or an AMC Pacer.

About the only redeeming part of the show was watching Tanner go through the car wash, as I once made that mistake in my '83 Trans Am. My T-tops weren't even that loose, but it was as if they weren't even there.
 
Wrong episode, dude.

This one's for the boys playing in the snow!
 
Last edited:
They changed the bus to a newer model, you knew Tanner was gonna win cause of the R35 going sideways and stupid fast in the previews. This was a cocking about episode which with the way they get along is no longer a horrendous thing, and the driving in the end was pretty damn good, all in all a serviceable episode.
 
you knew Tanner was gonna win cause of the R35 going sideways and stupid fast in the previews.

More like "You know Tanner's gonna win because he always does and they should stop pretending." ;)

That aside, though. I spent most of the episode nodding at whereall they went (since they were in my part of Maine). I figured out almost every locale (including abandoned/condemned housing on old Loring AFB!) except for where they did Rut's plow challenge/where Adam burned the buried car. I've two places in mind but can't pinpoint.
 
Watchable, and yet in the end Tanner gets to drive the GT-R. Again the production team switches models from a early mid 90s Vandura to an Express. LOL...
 
Watchable. Actually better than the UK attempt, if I'm honest.
 
I really enjoyed that. Nice to see them all working together for a change. Love the race at the end. (If I'm honest, I just like watching Tanner Foust drive awesome cars in unlikely areas.)
 
Gave it a 7. Probably should have given it an 8 for Tanner's driving of that bus and the GT-R. All in all, I'm impressed with this season so far.
 
I will say this: I want to see that model of GT-R take on that Silverstone-inspired ice track that Jeremy tested a Ferrari and a Bentley on. That segment with the GT-R was very much on par with any of the TGUK car / other vehicle challenges.

As for the bus thing, well, Adam plus explosives at the end was pretty entertaining, but I'm not sure that it had the pure entertainment value that the Snowbine did. Kinda hard to top an airplane crashing on a partially-plowed field, or hitting a car buried under a drift, or "accidentally" setting a stuntman on fire.
 
This is how it's done. Instead of being ?Ambitious but rubbish?, try being ?Ambitious and badass?
 
Started my rating at 9 just for the location. Not quite my 'backyard' but only a short drive away!

Subtracted a couple points because the original bus was not the one that was modified.
Nearly took another off as at first I thought they were trying to pass off the GT-R being raced in Maine but they eventually mentioned it was in Wyoming.

Plus 1 point for the bomber hat at Loring AFB joke. (I hope others caught that.)

After all my nitpicking.....a nice 8 for an enjoyable show.
 
Last edited:
I'm going to go ahead and give it a 10. I've always said TGUK should have more challenges and less reviews/filler. Nobody watches these shows for buying advice, they watch for fun. People go to consumer reports, etc. for buying advice. So I do appreciate the format. The off road action and performance/drifting thrust was definitely not in the TGUK "Snowbine."

Was it just me or were those Ford locking hubs? and Ford mirrors? Did they lift the body and throw it on an F-350?

- - - Updated - - -

I'm going to go ahead and give it a 10. I've always said TGUK should have more challenges and less reviews/filler. Nobody watches these shows for buying advice, they watch for fun. People go to consumer reports, etc. for buying advice. So I do appreciate the format. The off road action and performance/drifting thrust was definitely not in the TGUK "Snowbine."

Was it just me or were those Ford locking hubs? and Ford mirrors? Did they lift the body and throw it on an F-350?

And why was Rut plowing in 2wd?
 
I didn't really get into this episode, for some reason I found it quite bland right from the start though bits and pieces were entertaining enough. I think I might be the only person who gets a little bugged when they say "Top Gear challenged us too..." Top Gear challenged you? The show your on set you a challenge, what was so wrong with saying "the producers" do Americans not know what producers are?
I also wish they would dump this whole "Who's gonna be the one to drive the car at the end of the show?! It's gonna be Tanner, it's not exactly a mystery so stop thinking people are actually in suspense about this.

I've always said TGUK should have more challenges and less reviews/filler. Nobody watches these shows for buying advice, they watch for fun. People go to consumer reports, etc. for buying advice.

Top Gear doesn't do reviews in the same way that "consumer reports" does reviews, this isn't the boring nonsense you see on motor week or old top gear they make aspirational films with beautiful cinematography and a cinematic score, I don't want them to do a Ferrari review because I'm on the fence about buying a Ferrari, I want them to do a review of the Ferrari so that I can see a really cool film that you just don't see on youtube etc because they've all got the same bland shooting style and boring production music that they found on a CD laying around somewhere.
 
Loved the episode! I'm gonna give it 8.5 actually. Realism was not their main objective, having fun was. And I had fun! So I don't see where all the hate is coming from. Excusing their couple of "forced laughs", it was quiet watchable. And the super-fast driving of the GT-R at the end was awesome!
 
Plus 1 point for the bomber hat at Loring AFB joke. (I hope others caught that.)

I should turn in my Maine card now. :( I should even turn in my "I lived on the damn base when I was in diapers" card. Sigh. I should rewatch it and see if I can spot it then. :)

I've always said TGUK should have more challenges and less reviews/filler. Nobody watches these shows for buying advice, they watch for fun. People go to consumer reports, etc. for buying advice.

People read Consumer Reports et al for buying advice on cars they can actually afford and are looking to buy. The mothership is (or, one could argue, was, but I digress) more into the cars most of us can only dream of driving one day, with a handful of exceptions (mainly hot hatches and the occasional SUV). Or if they do feature a cheap car that isn't a hot hatchback (usually one we in North America can't buy anyway), or a different car that someone may actually buy, there's always a twist of some sort. Oh, and there's the aforementioned cinematography and soundtrack thing. And editing.
 
Having lived on that base many years ago I was excited to see them in that area. But the episode itself was kinda bland.
 
Top